The potential strike by the United States against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria’s borders.

A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilize the Middle East and North Africa. It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance.

Syria is not witnessing a battle for democracy, but an armed conflict between government and opposition in a multireligious country. There are few champions of democracy in Syria. But there are more than enough Qaeda fighters and extremists of all stripes battling the government. .....

We need to use the United Nations Security Council and believe that preserving law and order in today’s complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos.

Sounds reasonable enough. But then Putin goes on to say "there is every reason to believe (chemical weapons were) used not by the Syrian Army, but by opposition forces, to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons," which is, at the very, very best an overstatement. Every reason?

Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan “you’re either with us or against us.”

How many years in the gulag for the Russian aide who tells Putin that sentence isn't parallel?

My working and personal relationship with President Obama is marked by growing trust. I appreciate this. I carefully studied his address to the nation on Tuesday. And I would rather disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States’ policy is “what makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional.”

It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal.

I "rather agree" with much of this parting finger to the eye of the chesty right in this country who often seem to prefer making arrogant assertions about how great America is rather than quietly working to live up to the promises in our founding documents in a way that will inspire other countries to enthuse about our exceptionalism.

Yet it's also more than a little rich / galling / infurating to listen to a lecture on peace and democracy and freedom from Vladimir Putin, as Kasparov noted in a series of related tweets that were far less wry and amusing than the one above:

Pathetic of the New York Times to provide Putin with a platform for condescending propaganda. Putin lecturing on peace & international law!

Putin's troops still occupy annexed Georgian territory after he invaded in 2008. My memory may be bad; was there a Security Council vote?

While Putin was writing for the NY Times with one hand, the other signed more orders for weapons for al-Assad to murder more of his people.

Now we can expect NY Times op-eds by Mugabe on fair elections, Castro on free speech, & Kim Jong-un on prison reform. The Axis of Hypocrisy.

If Putin really wants to help retrieve al-Assad's weapons he can provide the mailing list he used to send them to Syria in the first place.

Putin's history of the UN is novel. It was created after WWII partly to prevent genocide. Not to prevent others from preventing genocide.

Putin's message will be embraced by anti-interventionist appeasers. "Let the dictators do as they like, it's not our problem."

Dictators always say a lot of beautiful things about peace and the law. Right before the tanks roll into Poland. Or even after.

Just hours after crushing Poland, Hitler gave a speech in the Reichstag using words "peace" or "peaceful" 26 times, including final word.

With the outsourcing in the American job market, Obama has outsourced US foreign policy to Putin.

When al-Assad falls, Putin will lose his military base as well as a top arms customer. Life & law mean nothing to him, he has proven it.

The NY Times gets the most scorn. They could change the name but "Pravda" is taken. (That means "truth," so you see where Putin learned.)

It should cause you to ponder deeply whether or not what a hypocrite is saying really is the truth. In this case, certainly not.

"Just hours after crushing Poland, Hitler gave a speech in the Reichstag using words "peace" or "peaceful" 26 times, including final word."

WHOOP! WHOOP! GODWIN ALERT! GODWIN ALERT!

Mr. Kasparov:

In this country, we have a little thing called "Godwin's Law". Unfortunately, you have violated it, so I have to throw all your arguments in this piece out the window. You no longer have any credibility.

Sorry, Mr. Kasparov, I don't make the rules up, I just have to live by them.

"......chesty right in this country who often seem to prefer making arrogant assertions about how great America." No for that read the "Best and the Brightest." The misplaced belief the elites know better. I find that to be a conceit of the cerebral Left.

American Exceptionalism was never meant to mean we and our actions are superior over others because we are Americans. Our revolution and Constitution and Declaration of Independence marked the determination of a people who to no longer accept the fealty of hereditary rule,and with it the traditions of social and economic stratification. The Founding Fathers' did not regard their efforts; our Constitution and Declaration of Independence as intrinsically superior or that the American People were chosen to rule the world by God – Instead the ideals of popular sovereignty and constitutional freedom represented natural rights that did not derive from the state or a king or any dictator. They were rights which could not be taken away. That is American Exceptionalism.

Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan “you’re either with us or against us.”

I did like Obama's speech the other night. (He's really getting gray now, as most presidents end up doing in their second term, if they have one) It was a decent speech. However, the goals were not clear and not really stated and he wasn't as single-minded as others have been in the past. I know that you all don't agree, and I didn't think so before, but Obama is just turning out to be a Carter. He's a really smart guy, but entirely too wimpy and way out-experienced and out-played by Putin and others. The pendulum swung too far to the wimpy side in response to Bush's cowboyish ways.

--I find it interesting that Putin is determined to keep America out of Syria, and Assad in power (and his puppet is dutifully playing along). What's he afraid the Americans would discover if action was taken against Syria?

About "Change of Subject."

"Change of Subject" by Chicago Tribune op-ed columnist Eric Zorn contains observations, reports, tips, referrals and tirades, though not necessarily in that order. Links will tend to expire, so seize the day. For an archive of Zorn's latest Tribune columns click here. An explanation of the title of this blog is here. If you have other questions, suggestions or comments, send e-mail to ericzorn at gmail.com.
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Contributing editor Jessica Reynolds is a 2012 graduate of Loyola University Chicago and is the coordinator of the Tribune's editorial board. She can be reached at jreynolds at tribune.com.